The European Commission did not provide information on Ukraine’s grain proposal on Wednesday, but announced it will do so next week, Andrzej Sadoś, Poland’s permanent representative to the EU, told journalists in Brussels.
A meeting of ambassadors of the Member States to the EU took place in Brussels. At the request of Poland, the talks covered, among other things, Ukrainian grain.
“‘The Commission has not provided the expected information’
In mid-September, the European Commission announced that Ukraine had committed to submitting a proposal to solve the problem of Ukrainian grain exports by September 18; However, Kiev did not do this.
We wanted to hear from the EC about the current state of talks with the Ukrainian side, which we hear about through public statements and public statements. (…) The Commission has not provided the information expected by the Member States. She announced she would do it next week
– said Ambassador Sadoś.
The ’27’ of the EU
The Polish diplomat also told journalists that talks between the EU’s “27” are the only format in which Poland wants to discuss these issues.
We drew attention to the challenges facing the Common Agricultural Policy and emphasized the need to be inclusive in terms of the participation of the 27 Member States in access to this information and transparency on the part of the European Commission
– said Sados.
Due to the need for procedural caution, consultation is not possible. The first step to return to the dialogue that has taken place is to formally withdraw the complaint [przez Ukrainę ze Światowej Organizacji Handlu (WTO)]
– he pointed out.
Conflict of interest of the European Commission
According to unofficial information from PAP, Sadoś also spoke at the ambassadors’ meeting about the conflict of interest of the EC, which on the one hand represents the EU in the dispute before the WTO and at the same time holds bilateral talks with Ukraine. Poland – according to PAP information – called in this context to cancel the meeting of the grain platform, which the EC had planned for Thursday.
The ban on the import of wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflowers from Ukraine to Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia was introduced by the European Commission in early May as a result of an agreement with these countries on Ukrainian agri-food products. The restrictions were initially in place until June 5, then extended until mid-September. The embargo was lifted on September 15 based on the decision of the European Commission.
On September 16, a regulation on the indefinite ban on the import of Ukrainian agricultural products to Poland came into force.
Poland believes that Ukraine has failed to comply with statements made to the European Commission on grain exports. On September 15, Ukraine promised to introduce effective mechanisms to limit the inflow of grain and propose legal arrangements to solve the problem, but Poland said it did not do so either.
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olnk/PAP
Source: wPolityce
Emma Matthew is a political analyst for “Social Bites”. With a keen understanding of the inner workings of government and a passion for politics, she provides insightful and informative coverage of the latest political developments.